Wednesday, August 2nd 2023

First it was fires. Then floods. Now the province, already devastated by two extreme events, will wait to see what kind of impact unusually warm ocean temperatures will have on this year's hurricane season. 

As the Earth heats up, the impact of the climate crisis is speeding up. Nowhere is safe, but places like Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada, surrounded by so much ocean, might bear a heavier load. What can this summer of extremes teach us about the future of Eastern Canada? What comes next, and how should we prepare for it?

GUEST: Dr. Kent Moore, professor of atmospheric physics at the University of Toronto, joins us from Nova Scotia

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Tuesday, August 1st 2023

Recently a feature story in Maclean's magazine described parents who were "losing their kids to Fortnite." While some gamers may hear that and see the kind of rhetoric that has followed video games around since their inception, others heard recognition and acknowledgement.

Many behaviours, including video games, can be addicting, usually to a very small subset of people. But what makes video games different is that they are constantly evolving, and rapidly—usually with the goal of increasing the time spent playing them. As technology has improved, so has game design, and games with an online element have a social aspect that can also offer Fear Of Missing Out. So are modern games more addicting than ever? And if they are, how do we recognize and deal with that?

GUEST: Luc Rinaldi, writing in Maclean's

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Monday, July 31st 2023

This is the story of a scam that lasted for decades, and cost its victims over $200 million. It was run by a Canadian man who now sits in an American prison. It sold the services of a psychic, but that wasn't the problem with it—the issue was that the scammer used a particular psychic's likeness without permission.

How did the scheme work, and who fell for it? Can you really scam people who are already voluntarily paying for a service that promises to tell you the future or make you rich? What can the saga of Patrice Runner teach us about the nature of deceit?

GUEST: Rachel Browne, an investigative journalist and documentary producer, wrote about Patrice Runner for The Walrus

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Friday, July 28th 2023

Since the last covid lockdowns ended in 2021, barely a month has passed without major job actions—union drives at huge companies, or massive strikes in the public or private sectors—making headlines. If you look at the numbers, we're seeing the kind of labour push we haven't seen in decades. From Hollywood's writers and actors, Canada's federal government workers, Ontario's education support staff and BC's port workers, employees from all over are fighting for what they see as long overdue gains.

Why is now the time, and will this moment last? Is this the return of a militant workforce ready to withhold their labour? A true generational shift? Or a brief moment that will be met with ferocity from employers trying to regain the upper hand?

GUEST: Dr. Stephanie Ross, associate professor in the School of Labour Studies at McMaster University

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Thursday, July 27th 2023

Cabinet shuffles ahead of a fall session of parliament aren't unusual, but Wednesday's changes which saw most of Justin Trudeau's ministers switch roles or exit cabinet altogether definitely are. All told 30 of 38 positions were shifted in sweeping changes that clearly show the government is ... what?

Are they terrified by their recent drop in the polls? Chasing fresh voices and new perspectives? "Listening to Canadians," as Trudeau put it in his announcement Wednesday? Or even preparing for an election? We'll look at who's in, who's out and what it all means both for the upcoming session and for the next election, whenever that is...

GUEST: Cormac Mac Sweeney, Parliament Hill reporter, CityNews (You can find a full list of the new ministers and their portfolios right here)

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